Filed to story: My Life with the Walter Boys Book (I & II) PDF Free
“Maybe I should call your father.”
A single, humorless bark of laughter escaped his throat. “Go ahead. It’s not like he can do anything all the way from Germany.”
Without waiting for a response, he yanked open the car door, flung himself into the passenger seat, and immediately cranked up the radio. Heavy metal music blared out from the speakers, effectively cutting off the conversation. Jet threw the Camaro in reverse, and the air freshener dangling from the rearview mirror swung wildly. As they pulled out of the driveway, Isaac stuck his arm out the window and gave his aunt the finger.
Despite the huge sign of disrespect, she stayed rooted on the porch until they disappeared from view.
Once she returned to the house, Alex, Nathan, and I stared at one another in shock. None of us knew what to say.
“Maybe it’s just a phase?” Alex said, breaking the silence. We all laughed at the bad joke but quickly grew quiet again.
“Do either of you know what’s been up with him?” I finally asked.
Alex sighed, dropped the bat, and flopped down next to me. “I’m not positive, but I think it has something to do with his dad.”
“Uncle Pete came for a visit at the start of summer,” Nathan added as he took a seat on my other side. “Isaac has been like that ever since he left.”
I frowned. “Isaac wasn’t happy to see him?” I didn’t know much about Isaac and Lee’s parents, only that their mother was out of the picture and Peter Walter, George’s younger brother, was a lieutenant colonel in the military who was stationed overseas. They rarely got to see their father, so I’d have assumed him visiting would be the highlight of their summer.
“That’s the strange part,” Alex answered. “He’ll never admit it, but I know Isaac kept a calendar counting down the days until his dad’s leave. Something must have gone down, but I didn’t ask what. He and Lee get cagey about personal stuff.”
We chatted about Isaac for another minute or so, trying to solve the mystery, but quickly exhausted the subject. Alex started talking to Nathan about baseball stats, so I opened the book I’d grabbed and started reading. When I checked back a few minutes later, the conversation had shifted.
“…it’s a great song,” Alex was saying.
“Oh!” I tossed the paperback aside and focused on Nathan with eager eyes. “Have you written something new? I’d love to hear it.” If there was one thing I hated about Alex and Kim’s relationship, it was that Nathan felt the need to hide away in the loft. He spent so much time out there that I never heard his music drifting through the house anymore.
Nathan picked at a loose thread on his shirt. “Sorry, no.”
“Oh.” I brushed my fingers against my throat and glanced at Alex, but he looked as nonplussed by his brother’s answer as I felt. “Um, is that a no
, you haven’t written anything new, or a no
, I can’t hear it?”
“I’m working on something, but it’s not ready yet,” Nathan said as his phone buzzed with an incoming text. He read the message, picked himself up, and brushed grass off his hands and knees. “I’ll see you guys later? I’ve got something I need to take care of.”
Alex frowned as he watched him go. “Is it just me, or was that weird?”
“Definitely weird,” I agreed. Concerning too. The missed morning runs, prickly attitude, and lack of new music all added up to something not being right.
“Any idea what’s going on there?”
I fixed Alex with a disbelieving look. “If anyone should know, it’s you. You’re the one who shares a room with him.” Maybe Lee was right about all those Kickstarts melting his brain.
“Right,” Alex said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I suppose I’ve been a little distracted by Kim.”
“A little?” I asked, then shook my head when he shot me a sheepish smile. If I needed further proof that Alex and I truly didn’t belong together, this was it—he’d never been so wrapped up in me that the world around him went unnoticed. “Does she make you happy?”
The answer was obvious, but I wanted to hear it from him.
“The happiest.”
“Good,” I said with a decisive nod. “I’m glad.”
“So…um…” Alex grimaced as if he didn’t like what he was about to say next. “How are things with Cole?”
Nope. I was so not going there.
I’d rather throw myself down a never-ending staircase than talk to Alex about my relationship with his older brother. “Do you honestly want to hear about that?”
Alex blanched. “I’d rather eat rusty nails.”
Perfect. We were on similar pages, then. “That’s what I thought.”
Eight
Eight
My phone vibrated against the bathroom counter just as I turned off the shower. After wrapping a towel around myself, I checked my messages.
Skylar
Scored drinks at Starbucks. Be there in fifteen.
I frowned. Why would he be—oh shit!
Somehow, I completely forgot about the student council meeting Erin scheduled for before class. Knowing that the Walters would never willingly leave for school early, Skylar had offered to pick me up so we could attend together, but there was no way I’d be ready in time. Still dripping wet, I grabbed my tote and rushed up the stairs toward my room.
Maybe I should braid my hair instead of drying it?
I thought as I threw open the door. I stepped inside and—
My mind short-circuited, and I couldn’t process what I was seeing: Cole lying on his back in my old bed, bare-skinned and cheeks flushed, the sheet riding dangerously low on his waist and his hand moving beneath the thin material.
Our eyes met, and his widened in shock as he scrambled to pull up the sheets. “What the—“